According to the Chartered Society of
Physiotherapy, using your smartphone, tablet, and laptop could pose
a serious risk to your health.

Using devices like a smartphone could pose
a risk to your health. (Via: gadgetmasala.com)

The group is the professional, educational, and
trade union body for the U.K.’s Chartered
Physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants, and students. In their
report, they state that workers are risking their health by
continuing to work on mobile devices after leaving the office.

The report says that this is of significant
concern because most users are unaware of the poor posture they
take on when using these various modern-day gadgets and gizmos
that, in turn, often leads to back and neck pain.

Study

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy conducted
an online survey of 2,010 U.K.-based office workers, whereupon they
found that close to two-thirds (64%) of those who responded
admitted to continuing their work outside of the
company’s normal office hours.

More specifically, the report stated that people
were ending their work day with two hours and 18 minutes of extra
screen-time at home . . . every day of the week.

Additional data showed that the two most common
reasons on why workers needed to spend extra hours performing
work-related duties came from having too much work at the office,
and the need to find a way to ease the pressure of having to
perform at work.

Translation: It’s easier to do things
from home, where you can work at your own pace and not have someone
breathing down your neck to get the job done.

If you’re going to spend the extra
hours working at home, pace yourself and be aware of your
posture.

Dr. Helena Johnson, chairwoman of the Chartered
Society of Physiotherapy, admitted that her
organization’s findings were of “huge concern
to physiotherapists, who see the consequences of poor posture and
bad working practices each day.” She said,
“While doing a bit of extra work at home may seem like a
good short-term fix, if it becomes a regular part of your evening
routine then it can lead to problems such as back and neck pain, as
well as stress-related illness.”

Dr. Johnson added, “This is especially
the case if you’re using handheld devices and not
thinking about your posture. Talk to your employer if you are
feeling under pressure.”

In an interview with the BBC, Brendan Barber,
the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said,
“Excessive work levels are not good for anyone.
Overworked employees are not only unlikely to be performing well at
work, the stress an unmanageable workload causes is also likely to
be making them ill.”

Barber adds, “By the time someone is
so overloaded they constantly feel the need to put in extra hours
every night of the week at home, things have clearly got out of
hand.”

He concludes with this take-away:
“Individuals who find themselves unable to leave their
work in the office should talk to their managers and learn to
switch off their smartphones.” ■